The Half Blood Princess
by navnit
Summary: What if Hermione wasn't as muggleborn as she claimed to be? What if she knew more about the Wizarding World than she let on? What if she had a mission? HHr.
1. Prologue

**The Half-Blood Princess**

**_Prologue: Nighttime Excursion_**

_First year Hermione Granger rapped her wand sharply above her head and muttered the charm taught to her when she was eight years old, effectively going invisible. She had just had her first ever start of the year feast down at the Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and now was slowly exiting one of the schools dormitories slipping out into the hallway. _

_The dormitory she exited was hers, Gryfindor, she was still shaking her head as to how she was sorted there when what she had devised, with her collaborators, what was probably one of the most cunning plans ever. _

_Hermione was on her way to meet on of the said collaborators but in order to reach him she had to make sure she was not seen or caught; students were not supposed to be out after hours, much less first years on their first night at Hogwarts. _

_When she reached the end of the Gryfindor dormitories hallway she turned not to the large staircase leading to the right down towards her final destination but to the left which led her up two flights of stairs and onto a corridor which held a tapestry depicting a man trying to teach trolls ballet, on the opposite side was a blank stretch of unremarkable wall in front of which Hermione now paced. Her contact had amazingly located this place just two weeks before she was due to arrive at the castle, were it not for this discovery she would have had much longer walk which would definitely not have been taking place on her first day. _

_On her third pass along the blank wall Hermione saw a door melt through the stone wall and materialize in front of her, she grinned triumphantly and seized the handle pulling the door open and slipping inside. _

_The room she found herself in was circular and brightly lit with torches containing a set of twelve doors each marked specifically with numbers 1 through 12. Hermione recognized these as numbers for each of the floors of the castle, she had had no idea that it contained __**twelve**__ floors; Hogwarts, A History only stated nine. She knew that she needed to get to the lowest floor so she wrenched Door number 1 open and walked in. _

_The room now gave her a __**corridor**__ with doors marked as EH and GH which Hermione took to mean 'Entrance Hall' and 'Great Hall', the door she was looking for though was located at the far end marked with a simple D which Hermione understood meant 'Dungeons'. She opened this door and encountered another corridor which held doors labeled HC, PR K and SC what she looked for though was the one labeled PMQ._

_Hermione hesitated as she stood in front of the door, she knew who lay behind it and she was excited to see him, anxious in fact; it hadn't been a long time, but she couldn't help but feel apprehensive; the brief glimpse she had caught of him at dinner reminder her nothing of the deeply caring man she had grown to know, she knew he was playing a persona here but she was still scared that __**that**__ persona would be what she would encounter when he opened up the door. _

_Biting her bottom lip though, Hermione made up her mind; the hat hadn't put her in Gryfindor for nothing so she raised her hand and knocked on the deep red oak door labeled with letters abbreviating; the Potions Masters Quarters._


	2. The Potions Master

**The Potions Master**

Hermione's knock was answered immediately by the hooked nosed, sallow faced Potions professor and his eyes lit up as he surveyed his visitor. His mouth lifted up in a genuine smile that revealed his true features and made him look years younger; the man that Hermione recognized and knew to be her father; Severus Snape.

"Hello, Miss Granger," he said mockingly.

Hermione grinned. "Hello, Professor Snape," she replied eagerly as was expected.

Severus looked past Hermione seeing not his dungeon corridor but the corridor through which his daughter had come through. "I see you found your way to the room?" he asked rhetorically. "Good, why don't you come in child."

Hermione smiled at him and entered his chambers.

"Best not to close the door as you'll find yourself walking all the way back up to the common room," Severus said as he left the door ajar and came to sit on a weathered old chair that was located near the fire in his living room, a tea tray lay waiting on the table in front of him and he gestured his daughter to come closer and take a seat.

"And speaking of _common rooms_," he said sardonically, conjuring a chair for her opposite him. Severus raised an eyebrow at her encouraging her to fill in the blanks.

"Oh don't start daddy," said Hermione as she hoisted herself up on the chair her feet dangling above the floor. "You know perfectly well that Slytherin wasn't the place for me."

Severus nodded. "Of course I know, child," he responded smiling at his daughters wit. "But I would have preferred Ravenclaw at the least, I would expect that _they_ at least would have acknowledged your prowess in academics as opposed to the dunces you now have been sorted in with who couldn't even recognize _monkshood_ from _wolfsbane_."

Hermione snorted into her tea. "Dad of course they wouldn't recognize one from the other since they are both the _same_ plant," she admonished giggling.

Severus nodded proudly at his daughter for knowing that. "Yes but that is exactly my point, child," he replied. "_you_ know the but ask any Gryfindor _seventh year_ and they would stare at you like a gormless gargoyle until you _told_ them the difference."

Hermione to a sip of her tea thinking then said. "Daddy, you're not going to be deliberately harsh towards the Gryfindors are you?"

Severus sighed and put down his cup. "Child, I thought we had been over this," he said softly.

"I know," said Hermione. "But that was before _I_ was sorted there."

"I know it's unfair," said Severus after a moment. "But I can hardly start treating Gryfindors fairly after I have been biased towards them for so many years, as you know there is a reason for that bias."

"You can't let the kids of Death Eaters see you being fair to the Gryfs," recited Hermione, this point having been hammered into her brain through all of her childhood.

"Exactly," said Severus. "they can't _ever_ know that I don't feel any allegiance towards them but more importantly they can't know that I have a daughter." Severus now looked a little anxious leaning towards Hermione his hands folded in his lap.

Hermione realized the tense situation and tried to placate him. "Dad, don't worry," she said gently. "no one will find out."

Severus didn't agree. "If you had been sorted into _any_ other house then I would agree with you child," he said. "But now that you are in Gryfindor," he sighed again. "it would have been easier to just to treat you fairly if you were in say Ravenclaw, but now I have to be horrible towards you, as I am with all Gryfindors. Mind you they make it very easy for me because of how abysmally thick headed most of them are."

"Daddy!" admonished Hermione at the slight towards her new housemates.

Severus smirked and continued. "But with you, I don't think I would be able to be intentionally horrible towards my own daughter."

"You won't have to dad," said Hermione confidently. "I won't give you any reason to be horrible towards me."  
>Severus smiled at her recognizing that his daughter while scary smart could still sometimes be a little naive about the Wizarding World. "I shouldn't <em>have<em> to have a reason to be horrible towards any Gryfindor child, much less a _muggle-born_ Gryfindor," he explained to her. "it's expected of me by all those junior Death Eaters in Slytherin and if I don't live up to their expectations they will be off to report to their parents all about how Snape's gone soft."

"No," continued Severus getting up and moving over to his liquor cabinet. "there's nothing to it Hermione," he straightened up with a bottle of firewhiskey and glass. "your placing in Gryfindor might make things go less smoothly than planned but go they will have to, therefore you will have to experience what it is like to be a muggle-born Gryfindor in Potions class, and it will not be pleasant."

Severus sat back down in his chair his glass of whiskey in hand and he took a long sip of the amber coloured liquid his eyes and expression downcast.

Hermione meanwhile was looking at her hands, she couldn't lie to herself and say that she had not expected this to happen but it didn't mean she was going to like it much, already she had heard from several students of her father's reputation as a Potions Professor. The Gryfs all described him as being an overgrown bat, a greasy haired slimy biased git who favored Slytherin above all others and hated the Gryfindors with a vengeance.

It was hard to reconcile her caring, soft spoken, if a little distant, father with the picture that was being painted to her even by himself, and what was worse was that he didn't want to be all those things that they said he was; for reasons that Hermione didn't completely understand and things that she still wasn't told due to her age, her dad had to be the way he was at school and Hermione had to play her part if she was to keep herself and her dad safe. So resolute she raised her head and looked at her father.

"I will be alright daddy," she said tremulously. "you can be as harsh or as strict as you want with me, I can take it."

Snape smiled grimly at his daughters determination wishing for the thousandth time that it wasn't necessary but nodded approvingly. "That's my girl," he said to a now beaming Hermione. "just know child; that whatever I may say to you whether it be about your work, or behavior or even personality or appearance, it will all be a front as I would never truly mean any if it, unless of course I'm complimenting your work under my breath," Severus finished with a wink.

"Yes, dad." said Hermione through chuckles.

"There is however one way you could avoid most of my ire in Potions and at Hogwarts in general."

Hermione blinked and looked at him curiously. "What's that dad?"

Severus put his empty whiskey glass down on the table and stapled his fingers together in his lap fixing his child with a stern stare. "You must stay as far away as you can," he said softly. "From Harry Potter."


	3. Post Potions

Hermione exited her first Potions class stunned, she barely recognized her father in that class; there was absolutely none of the warmth and caring she was used to seeing in those eyes of his, in fact they looked strangely empty and cold as if there wasn't a real person behind them.

She hadn't known what she was in for when she had entered the classroom but she certainly hadn't expected this. Her father had tried to explain exactly why she should stay away from Harry Potter but she hadn't understood it completely on her first night. But now she saw what it was, no matter how mean he was to all Gryfs it seemed that Harry was a special case whom she believed that her father just had to completely loathe more than anybody else.

She said 'had to' because she just could not believe that her father actually hated the eleven year old boy who everybody hailed as their savior, she _needed_ to believe it was an act just like his behavior towards her although he had only snapped at her once in anger when she had been insolent enough to stand and raise her hand beside Harry to make him ask _her_ his questions.

Hermione admitted to herself that she was very shocked at her dad's behavior towards the messy haired bespectacled boy whom she had met on the Hogwarts Express, she remembered thinking that he would have made a good friend if he didn't hang around so much with that Ron Weasley.

Within his first few minutes of questioning slash humiliating Harry she knew that it was going to get ugly; Harry while young and novice when compared to her father wasn't someone who looked to Hermione to be someone who would back down from a challenge which was exactly what her dad was giving him, so she had purposefully attracted his wrath on to herself giving Harry reprieve although when she had caught her Dads eye on her way out of the dungeons she had knew that she was in for a strict lecture tonight.

"I'm sorry daddy," said Hermione timidly as she stepped into her father's quarters which was declared open to her by his soft voice floating out towards her from behind his door.

"Sit down, child," he said indicating her chair. Severus was looking into the fire not facing her and _her_ chair was also angled towards the flames, as she walked around her seat she saw his graven face silhouetted in the firelight his chin resting on his stapled fingers, one look at the expression on his face and she knew that she had messed up big time.

She ignored the chair beside his and walked up to his and gently reaching to his folded hands holding them in her own, her eyes were glassy and she was only now feeling the full impact of what she might have caused to happen today in her bout of impulsiveness.

"I'm so sorry daddy," she repeated not knowing what else to say, not knowing how to explain how shocking his change in persona was to her and how she had felt that Harry had not deserved the treatment he had been given because it now all sounded feeble to her.

All the arguments she had been preparing for in her head seemed pointless as she realized what she might have cost them and there was nothing she could do to fix it. Fat tears leaked out of her eyes on their own accord as it truly sank in to her what she had done.

Her father was out of his seat in an instant kneeling beside her and wiping her tears gently with his thumbs. "There child," he said soothingly rubbing her back. "What's done is done and I don't want to see you crying over it."

"But daddy," she sobbed as more tears leaked down her cheeks as her realization completely sank in. "I messed up so badly today, I couldn't control myself and I didn't even think, I was so stupid and... and... oh daddy I'm so sorry."

Severus shook his head and lifted her up and sat back down on his chair with her legs across his lap, her head on his shoulder as he rubbed her back and consoled her as she burst into uncontrollable sobs.

After minutes which felt like hours to her, Hermione managed to control herself enough to try another apology but as she raised her head to speak she saw her father put a finger up. "Enough apologies child, what's done is done as I said and it can't be changed," he said softly. "a you felt the need to get personally involved with Potters questioning and it may have been detrimental to some of our plans but not the important ones."

Hermione looked at him curiously so he continued. "It only means that now you will have to endure my wrath as well as Potters because the junior Death Eaters will expect me to know of your muggle heritage and treat you accordingly."

Hermione nodded understanding but not liking the thought of that cold gaze of his directed at her. "The way you talked to Harry though, dad..." she trailed of tentatively as his expression clouded.

"Hermione, do you really think that I want to treat the son of my only real friend the way that I did today?" he asked her quietly.

Hermione was taken aback by this question. "What? You mean James Potter...?" she cut off as she saw her father's lip curl up in disdain.

"No," he said shaking his head. "not Potter. It was his mother, Lily. She and I grew up together and she was my best friend, when we went to Hogwarts we were separated; me in Slytherin and her in Gryfindor, but we retained our friendship," her father's face was downcast as her recalled these memories. "that is until Potter managed to win her heart over and _I_ managed to make the biggest mistake of my life and in a fit of anger called her something that she never forgave me for."  
>Hermione played with his fingers which were clasped around her smaller hands. "Did you, umm..." Hermione was not looking into his eyes but down at their hands, she didn't know much about the concept but the way her dad talked about 'Lily', the softness in his voice and the obviously high opinion he had of her, it was a little telling.<p>

"Did I?" asked Severus deliberately now over his nostalgia and a little amused by his daughters shyness. "complete your sentences child."

"Did you like uh Mrs Potter, Dad?"

Severus smiled at the question. "Yes I did, Hermione," he replied honestly. "very much so. So much that whenever I look at Potter, into his eyes, all I can see is her, even with so much of James in his appearance, because Potters eyes are exactly the same as Lily's eyes and they beseech me not to be so cruel to her son," he now looked directly into her eyes. "but I _have_ to Hermione, I have to be cruel to Lily's child in order to protect my own." he ran his hand down her bushy curls as her spoke. "Nothing is more important to me than keeping you safe and for that I will deny those eyes and I will do whatever it takes, so please child, don't ask me to not be like I am with him because it is the only way to ensure our survival."

Hermione sighed heavily but nodded knowing that his dad was right. "I promise daddy."

They felt silent still in each others arms watching the orange flames flicker and dance until theirs eyes felt heavy. It was fortunate that it was the last day of the week and tomorrow was Saturday for neither of them felt like leaving each others arms much less each others company, and so they both fell asleep on that chair in front of the fire with daughter in her father's arms to the most restful sleep that either of them had had for the whole week.


End file.
